[1] Gravel-bed braided rivers are characterized by shallow, branching flow across low relief, complex, and mobile bed topography. These conditions present a major challenge for the application of higher dimensional hydraulic models, the predictions of which are nevertheless vital to inform flood risk and ecosystem management. This paper demonstrates how high-resolution topographic survey and hydraulic monitoring at a density commensurate with model discretization can be used to advance hydrodynamic simulations in braided rivers. Specifically, we detail applications of the shallow water model, Delft3d, to the Rees River, New Zealand, at two nested scales: a 300 m braid bar unit and a 2.5 km reach. In each case, terrestrial laser scanning was used to parameterize the topographic boundary condition at hitherto unprecedented resolution and accuracy. Dense observations of depth and velocity acquired from a mobile acoustic Doppler current profiler (aDcp), along with low-altitude aerial photography, were then used to create a data-rich framework for model calibration and testing at a range of discharges. Calibration focused on the estimation of spatially uniform roughness and horizontal eddy viscosity, H , through comparison of predictions with distributed hydraulic data. Results revealed strong sensitivity to H , which influenced cross-channel velocity and localization of high shear zones. The high-resolution bed topography partially accounts for form resistance, and the recovered roughness was found to scale by 1.2-1.4 D 84 grain diameter. Model performance was good for a range of flows, with minimal bias and tight error distributions, suggesting that acceptable predictions can be achieved with spatially uniform roughness and H .

Numerical morphological modeling of braided rivers, using a physics‐based approach, is increasingly used as a technique to explore controls on river pattern and, from an applied perspective, to simulate the impact of channel modifications. This paper assesses a depth‐averaged nonuniform sediment model (Delft3D) to predict the morphodynamics of a 2.5 km long reach of the braided Rees River, New Zealand, during a single high‐flow event. Evaluation of model performance primarily focused upon using high‐resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of Difference, derived from a fusion of terrestrial laser scanning and optical empirical bathymetric mapping, to compare observed and predicted patterns of erosion and deposition and reach‐scale sediment budgets. For the calibrated model, this was supplemented with planform metrics (e.g., braiding intensity). Extensive sensitivity analysis of model functions and parameters was executed, including consideration of numerical scheme for bed load component calculations, hydraulics, bed composition, bed load transport and bed slope effects, bank erosion, and frequency of calculations. Total predicted volumes of erosion and deposition corresponded well to those observed. The difference between predicted and observed volumes of erosion was less than the factor of two that characterizes the accuracy of the Gaeuman et al. bed load transport formula. Grain size distributions were best represented using two φ intervals. For unsteady flows, results were sensitive to the morphological time scale factor. The approach of comparing observed and predicted morphological sediment budgets shows the value of using natural experiment data sets for model testing. Sensitivity results are transferable to guide Delft3D applications to other rivers.

Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data were acquired over the coastal city of Christchurch, New Zealand, prior to and throughout the 2010 to 2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence. Differencing of pre-and post-earthquake LiDAR data reveals land surface and waterway deformation due to seismic shaking and tectonic displacements above blind faults. Shaking caused floodplain subsidence in excess of 0.5 to 1 m along tidal stretches of the two main urban rivers, greatly enhancing the spatial extent and severity of inundation hazards posed by 100-year floods, storm surges, and sea-level rise. Additional shaking effects included river channel narrowing and shallowing, due primarily to liquefaction, and lateral spreading and sedimentation, which further increased flood hazard. Differential tectonic movement and associated narrowing of downstream river channels decreased channel gradients and volumetric capacities and increased upstream flood hazards. Flood mitigation along the large regional Waimakariri River north of Christchurch may have, paradoxically, increased the long-term flood hazard in the city by halting long-term aggradation of the alluvial plain upon which Christchurch is situated. Our findings highlight the potential for moderate magnitude (MW 6-7) earthquakes to cause major topographic changes that influence flood hazard in coastal settings.

In this paper, we analyze the performance of several noncohesive bank erosion algorithms to be embedded into two‐dimensional models for river hydromorphodynamics on nonmoving meshes. To avoid the complexity of analyzing two‐dimensional model results arising from the nonlinear interaction between flow, fluvial transport, and bank erosion, we develop a simplified framework. In detail, we reduce the two‐dimensional morphodynamic model to a cross‐sectional model under the assumption of longitudinal morphodynamic equilibrium, and apply bank erosion algorithms therein. To build candidate bank erosion models, we break down bank erosion algorithms into three modeling steps: identification of the bank, computation of sediment fluxes due to bank erosion, and bank updating. Different potential models are created by choosing different options for each step. We assess model performance against surveyed bank erosion over a flood event in the transitional Selwyn River, New Zealand. This study is preliminary to implementation of bank erosion in a fully two‐dimensional setting, to model braided planform dynamics.

The development of three‐dimensional reconstructions of channel morphology has historically been limited by the high costs of geospatial data collection and software modelling. Advances in image processing, sensor technology and portable remote‐sensing platforms, however, now offer the opportunity to derive survey quality terrain models at significantly reduced cost and without traditional deployment and logistical constraints. There is a pressing need to establish whether new geospatial technologies such as structure‐from‐motion photogrammetry can be used to deliver topographic data products that are suitable for higher‐dimensional hydrodynamic modelling. To address this question, we evaluate the results of simulations using Delft3D that were designed to model distributed, depth‐averaged flows in a wide, shallow, gravel‐bed braided river. The topography for these simulations was derived from digital elevation models (DEMs) generated using structure‐from‐motion and optical bathymetric mapping of two linked reaches of the Ahuriri River, New Zealand. The DEM quality achieved vertical surface errors of 0.10 m in non‐vegetated areas and 0.20 m in inundated areas. Simulations with 1.5 m and 2.5 m resolution grids for low‐flow, medium‐flow and high‐flow conditions were calibrated and tested against field real‐time kinematic‐global navigation satellite system observations. Results revealed that modelled depth errors were comparable to the DEM uncertainty, while simulated and observed inundation patterns achieve a maximum of 81% agreement. Given the complexity of the braided network and shallow flow depths, these simulations provide a powerful demonstration of the suitability of these terrain models for hydrodynamic applications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.